Grey Vinyl! Around 2008 Ryan Lott asked himself this question: "Can I make a pop record that doesn't rely on a verse/chorus formula?" In many ways Lott's first two releases as Son Lux represent his response to that query. At War With Walls & Mazes and We Are Rising document one of the most compelling musicians of the 21st century finding a distinctive creative voice, while making strikingly original music along the way. Lott turned to sonic texture as a source of musical sustenance, crafting a dynamic mosaic of sound inspired by the collagist technique of hip-hop beat makers. The soundscapes Lott created merged a panoramic symphonic palette with the propulsive rhythmic urgency of hip-hop. The only thing missing was a voice, a role Lott hadn't intended to fill himself. "Some friends helped me to hear in my own voice something that really worked with the music," Lott says. "They've both been out of print for awhile. But more importantly, I'm proud of the music, and I feel like it set the right foundation for my catalogue as Son Lux, so it makes sense to bring it back on vinyl and shed some light on it now that the project has a broader audience." Eleven years after his debut as Son Lux, Joyful Noise Recordings is reissuing these first two works.